E-Gobrecht, vol.2, no. 10

The E-Gobrecht
Volume 2, Issue 10, October 2006
Whole Number 19

This is an electronic publication of the Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC). The LSCC is a non-
profit organization dedicated to the attributions of the Liberty Seated Coin series. The LSCC provides
the infonnation contained in this email newsletter from various sources free of charge as a general
service to the membership and others with this numismatic interest. You do not have to be a LSCC
member to benefit from this newsletter; subscription to the E-Gobrecht is available to anyone. All
disclaimers are in effect as the completeness and/or accuracy of the information contained herein cannot
be completely verified. Contact information is included near the end of this newsletter.

Miscellaneous Notes from the Editor
Editor’s Announcements. Reminders:

There will be a regional meeting of the LSCC at the Baltimore coin show on Saturday, November

1 1 th , at 9 AM. Exact room will be announced at the show.

LSCC yearly dues ($ 1 5) should be submitted now to the club secretary /treasurer, Len Augsburger, per
the dues notice you received in the postal mail. He requests payments by October 3 1 st .

Acknowledgements. Many thanks to Gerry Fortin, Jim Gray, Len Augsburger, and the subscribers who
corresponded with me.

Availability of past issues. Through the generosity of Gerry Fortin, the previous issues of the E-
Gobrecht are readily accessible on his seated dime website at http://www.seateddimevarieties.com/LSCC.htm.

Please consider submitting something for print . It need not be elaborate; it can be something as
simple as a short note on your favorite variety, neat find, nice cherry pick, happenings at a coin show,
rare Liberty Seated coinage coming up for auction, etc. If you are interested in it, rest assured, others
will be too! Sharing information is a goal of this newsletter.

Features in this issue

==> Question of Month.

==> Auction News by Jim Gray.

==> LSCC to meet at the Baltimore Coin Show, November 1 1 th , by Len Augsburger.

==> Bill Cowburn wins ANA Convention Exhibit awards!

==> Liberty Seated Dime Web-Book Update by Gerry Fortin.

==> Liberty Seated Coinage on Display at the Upcoming Baltimore Coin Show by Len Augsburger.
==> The Nathan & Louis Kaufman Proof Seated Coinage by Len Augsburger.

==> Extensive Seated Half Dollar Collection soon to be auctioned by Vicken Yegparian.

==> Recent subscriber correspondence.

Details

==> Question of the month by Jim Gray. This forum hopes to increase collector interaction and
correspondence. Your participation is welcomed and encouraged. Send your comments to the E-
Gobrecht Editor at wb8cpy@arrl.net.

September’s Question

Which is the easiest of the five original Seated series to complete in G-VG?

Replies

Julian Leidman: IMHO, half-dimes would be the easiest to complete, leaving out the 1870-S. Dimes
would be next leaving out the NA 1873-CC, quarters without the NA 1873-CC and halves without the
1853-0 NA are probably equal as are the dollars leaving out the 1870-S. The bottom line is that all of
the collections have one monster coin to contend with.

Bill Bugert: From my observations over the years and from talking to many collectors, I am under the
impression that, if you forget about stoppers, the half dimes would be easiest to complete (if your
eyesight survives it - ha, ha!).

Jim Gray: None.

Question of this Month (October)

Which of the original 5 Seated series is the least difficult to complete in MS-60 or better? (Ed., send
replies to the Editor at wb8cpy@arrl.net. Thanks)

— >

AUCTION NEWS
By Jim Gray

The Goldberg Pre-Long Beach Sale had some high quality but common Seated issues, but very
little in the way of scarce or rare coins. Three original circulation issue Gobrecht Dollars were catalogued
with patterns and presented in the portion of the catalogue that contained true patterns. Another
circulation issue Gobrecht Dollar was catalogued with the dollars and described as a circulation issue. At
least they got it 25% correct. The only Seated coin of note was a nicely toned 1851 original dollar in
MS-62 that went for $51,750.

The Heritage Long Beach Sale had no half dimes of special interest. An 1846 dime in XF-45, but
scratched, sold for $747 while an AU-55 1858-S dime with scratches and absolutely ugly did not sell.

The Carson City rarities included a very nice 1872-CC in VF-35 for $6,900 while an AU detailed,
cleaned example of the same date only realized $4,600. A very choice 1873-CC in VF-30 hammered for
$14,950 and a bent, unevenly worn 1874-CC with no grade (Fr-2 to Ag-3) still realized $4,312. Nine
bidders fought it out for a choice F-12 1874-CC with very nice toning and only one mark. The lucky
buyer acquired the piece for $13,800.

Quarters featured an 1855-S in MS-62 for $5,175 and a homely whizzed 1866-S with XF-45
details only realized $805. The star of the sale was an original, problem free 1870-CC in AU-50. Eleven
bidders participated and the winner gladly paid $40,250.

Halves contained a cleaned VF-20 1855-S for $747, a very choice VF-35 1873-CC arrows for
$1,610 and an 1878-CC G-6 for $1,055.

A well struck, but not attractive 1856 dollar went for $2,990 in AU-55. An original dusky toned
1870-CC in MS-62 sold for $16,010. A F-12, but rough 1872-CC hammered for $2,990, which is better

than the $2,300 bid for a cleaned, repaired XF-45 of the same date.

The Stacks Sale contained a choice AU-58 1871-CC dollar with bright centers and deep
peripheral toning. The coin sold for $15,525 and was the only coin of note in that sale.

The ANR Requa Sale contained a nice AU-58 1840-0 with drapery half dime that did not sell,
nor did an XF-45 1844-0. A splendid 1853-0 no arrows in AU-55 with nice gun metal toning and a
good strike, including foil date, rang the bell for $6,325.

The 1846 AU-58 dime that did not sell in the Heritage Dallas Sale in June did not sell again. The
coin is attractive and tied for the finest graded by NGC so the consignor must have an exalted opinion as
to its value. An original 1859-S in MS-62 was bid up to $17,250. An 1873-CC dime in VF-35, but not
nearly as choice as the VF-30 in the Heritage Sale at $14,950, sold for $10,350. An 1885-S in VF-30 did
not sell, which is a common occurrence for this overrated date.

The only quarter of interest was a lightly toned AU-55 1878-S at $2,875. A handsome XF-45
1870-CC half dollar realized a strong $23,000. As for dollars, a whizzed net-graded VF-20 1855
managed $2,300 while a net VG cleaned 1871-CC eked out $1,552.

==> LSCC to meet at the Baltimore Coin Show, November 1 1 th by Len Augsburger. Plan now to attend
the regional LSCC meeting at the November Baltimore coin show. Scheduled for Saturday morning,

November 1 1 th at 9 AM, this is a change from the previous show when it was held on Friday morning.
The meeting location will be announced at the show.

==> Bill Cowburn wins two ANA Convention exhibits awards! As recounted in the previous issue of

the E-Gobrecht, LSCC member, researcher, and author Bill Cowburn won two awards at the 1 15 th
Anniversary ANA Convention in Denver, CO. His exhibit entitled “A Transitional Proof 1876 Trade
Dollar” won first place in the Class 1, United States Coins category and won first runner-up for the Best-
in-Show award. Bill recounts his award in this email:

“I must say that I was VERY surprised when I received the 2 nd place for best-in-show. I fully expected
the 1 st place winner to be the exhibit that won - it was outstanding! After that, I felt that there were 4 or

5 other strong exhibits that had a good chance at 2 nd and 3 rd place, so I was thrilled when they called my
name at the banquet.

My exhibit told the story of my finding this newly discovered obverse type and the research that was
done after finding the coin to figure out what it really was. This story generally appears in the last issue
of The Gobrecht Journal.

But my exhibit also describes, explains, and shows with examples of Trade Dollars what exactly the
Type 1 Obverse, Type 2 Obverse, Type 1 Reverse and Type 2 Reverse designs are for this series. I used
proof Trade Dollars along with enlarged photos to show the reader what these more well-known types
look like so they could compare that to the transitional piece that was in the exhibit. My goal was to
have this exhibit tell the story of the Trade Dollar so that even a non-collector of this series could easily
see what the specialists look for.” Courtesy of Bill, here are a few photos from the exhibit.
Congratulations again, Bill, well done!

Here is a detailed photo of the Transition piece from
Bill’s display at the FUN show (essentially the same
display as the ANA Convention).

Bill Cowburn showing
his award at the 2006
ANA Convention
(photo courtesy of the
October issue of The
Numismatist).

==>Liberty Seated Dime Web-Book Update by Gerry Fortin. I wish to share several important updates
with E-Gobrecht readers.

I am happy to announce that “The Definitive Resource for the Liberty Seated Dime Variety Collector”
web-book is accessible via two internet link names. Up to this point in time, members had to remember
the pertinent but long link name www.seateddimevarieties.com. Thanks to Jason Feldman, the web-book has
been crossed reference to the www.gerryfortin.com link name. I hope that the alternative url will provide for
easier member and guest contacts with web-book and message board content.

Next on the list of updates is the seated coinage message board. After considerable member feedback
and offline discussion, I improved the board by adding Question & Answer forums for individual seated
coinage denominations. Several active message board members were kind enough to volunteer as hosts
for the individual forums. Following are the additions:

Seated Half Dimes - Hosted by Mrhalfdime
Seated Quarters - Hosted by Coinosauras

Seated, Trade, and Gobrecht Dollars - Hosted by TradeDollarNut

The initial response to the Q&A forums has been simply outstanding. TradeDollarNut presented a thread
entitled “Grading Nuances For Uncirculated Seated Dollars” that is both remarkable and useful for any
individual contemplating a high end set of seated dollars. In the Seated Half Dime Q&A forum, readers
are delighted with carefully researched responses from Mrhalfdime. Presently, the new seated, trade
dollar forum is seeing the highest activity level. I am planning to add a Seated Half Dollar Q&A forum
during October with our own Bill Bugert as the host.

E-Gobrecht readers are welcomed to the seated coinage message board at

http://pi04.ezboard.com/bseateddimes. Membership continues to grow with 46 individuals having registered.
Registration is not a requirement to post on the forums, so guests can jump in and offer their questions or
share their knowledge at any time.

Finally, I would like to share several important content additions to the seated dime web-book. Two
previously unknown rotated reverse varieties have surfaced during the summer months. Jason Feldman
purchased both discovery coins and forwarded them for inclusion in the web-book. At the recent Denver
ANA, Jason located an 1854-0 F-103 (cracked obverse paired with oblique O reverse) that had a reverse
rotated right by 50 degrees. On eBay, an 1876 dime appeared with a reverse rotated left by 85 degrees.
Jason was aggressive with his bidding and secured this AU coin. Prior to the appearance of the two new
examples, the web-book listed 14 different rotated reverse varieties. Within a few months, that amount
increased by 15%, stressing the point that incremental discoveries are awaiting variety specialists.

As Always. . . .Happy Hunting

==> Liberty Seated Coinage on Display at the Upcoming Baltimore Coin Show by Len Augsburger.

The November exhibit at the Baltimore show is finalized - here is the announcement from the show
promoters— "A very special exhibit of Liberty Seated Coinage, including the only complete mint state set
of Seated Half Dollars ever assembled, will be a featured exhibit during the weekend. This extraordinary
exhibit will include:

Gerry Fortin's Seated Dime set, PCGS/NGC #1 registry set.

Len Augsburger's Seated Quarter set, currently #1 on the PCGS Registry.

Dick Osbum's Seated Half set, currently #1 on the NGC Registry.

This exceptional exhibit will be located at Table 1755 in Hall C. "

==> The Nathan & Louis Kaufman Proof Seated Coinage by Len Augsburger. Some recent discussion
in the E-Sylum (electronic newsletter of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society, original item at
http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v09n35al6.html) prompted me to look into the collection of Nathan and Louis
Kaufman, brothers and Michigan bankers in the early 20th century.

Eventually catalogued and sold by RARCOA in August 1978, this collection offers a window into
collecting habits in the early 1900s. The seated coins are represented by virtually complete proof runs of
all denominations from 1858 to 1889, with some duplicates. There a few scattered business strike pieces
and not a single branch mint seated coin among the whole bunch. Runs of Philadelphia proofs were the
most preferred way of collecting seated coinage at the time and this collection is certainly no exception.

The Kaufman seated coins have an interesting "signature". These coins were displayed and mounted
for many years with tacks. On at least one occasion, the obverses of many of the coins were cleaned, in
order to "improve" the display. As a result, many of the seated coins are catalogued as having brilliant

reverses, rim marks, hairlined and toned obverses. I have never seen a seated coin attributed to the
Kaufman collection, but this description may be sufficient to identify certain pieces in the future, or at
least make a good guess.

The silver portion of the collection went relatively unnoticed at the time, being far eclipsed by the
gold offerings in the catalog, substantial proof runs including such delicacies as 1875 and 1876 proof
examples, plus significant territorial issues. Harry Bass was a gold buyer at the sale, and being fastidious
in his note taking, certain lots in the Bass catalogs (Bowers & Merena, 1999-2000) note the Kaufman
pedigree.

==> Extensive Seated Half Dollar Collection soon to be auctioned. Vicken Yegparian of Stack's Rare
Coins thought that E-Gobrecht subscribers would like to know about the October 17, 2006 auction of the
George "Buddy" Byers Collection of U.S. Half Dollars. Buddy started collecting under the tutelage of
Ben Stack over 50 years ago and focused on the Half Dollar denomination. Over the decades, he has put
together an impressive specialized collection. Many of his Half Dollars were purchased privately from
Stack's as well as through our and other firms' auctions. The majority of acquisitions were made in the
1950s through the 1990s, so there are many coins in the collection that are not well known among the
current generation of collectors.

There is really something for all budgets in the collection, from group lots of circulated Liberty Seated
Halves to heart-stoppers like the 1839 No Drapery Proof, the 1853-0 No Arrows (Ex Garrett-Queller),
the Gem BU 1866-S No Motto (Ex Garrett), the Prooflike BU 1878-S, as well as a slew of Branch Mint
Proofs and high quality pre-1858 Proofs.

As always, all subscribers to the E-Gobrecht or members of LSCC who do not receive Stack's catalogues
but are interested in the Byers catalogue should email me (vickenY@stacks.com) for a copy. The Byers
Collection, as well as the other collections that are a part of our 71st Anniversary Sale, will also be
available for viewing and bidding at www.stacks.com.

==> Subscriber correspondence.

From Mike Morrow: Bill, thank you again for this edition. Congratulations on the recognition by
the ANA, it is worthy and well deserved. This is an excellent publication and I enjoy every issue.

From Link McGarity: Hello Bill, I enjoy reading the E-Gobrecht. Also, I am just getting into trying
to photograph some of my coin collection. I have a digital 6.0mp camera with 5x optical lens, macro
function, etc. I can't seem to arrive at a lighting type, lens distance fm coin, setup that yields good
quality when making photos of silver coins. Any tips would be appreciated. See you are also a Ham. So
many pursuits, so little time....

From Ron Feuer: Hi Bill, thanks for adding my name to the list that receives The Gobrecht Journal,
e-mail supplement. Please send me Chris Pilliod's current e-mail address. It may have changed since I
last saw him at a fairly recent Baltimore show, and I no longer have it. Thank you. (Ed., I do not have
his email address and wonder if a subscriber out there does.)

From Dave Perkins: Congratulations on the nice award and thanks for all the time you put into this
wonderful newsletter each week.

From Dennis Fortier: Bill, Congratulations on the ANA award for "Best On-Line Newsletter". I

heartily agree with the award. Every month I look forward to the E-Gobrechf s arrival and have made a
hard copy file of all issues. The information in these issues is in many ways as irreplaceable as it is
timely. The E-Gobrecht is an excellent addition to The Gobrecht Journal. Congratulations and
continued success, Bill.

From Kent McIntyre: Hi Bill: I would like to subscribe to E-Gobrecht. As an old guy and a long-
time collector of other U.S. denominations, I am now collecting Seated Liberty coins except for the
dollars. What I really need is a copy of "The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Half Dollars". Have you
considered either reprinting it or revising it? I use the Overton book for Bust Halves constantly. It is
very important that I get a source for R (rarity) listings and die varieties for the Liberty Seated Halves
and other denominations. I bought the set of four books from McCloskey and look forward to volume
five soon. Any help you or other members can give will be much appreciated. Thanks.

From Ron Swerdloff: Bill, Another terrific issue of E- Gobrecht. Thanks.

From Michael Luck: “.. .concerning CC trade dollars, which CC date is the most common and
available and comes nice with good strike eye appeal and luster. I would like one for type.” (Ed., I
forwarded this question to Trade Dollar expert Bill Cowburn for an answer and he replied :) Hi Bill.

The most common Carson City issue of Trade Dollar is the 1875-CC. Fortunately, this date also
usually comes well struck. There are two main varieties of this date available - the Type LI and Type
I/II. The Type LI is by far the most common for this issue. Of course, Type I/I simply refers to a coin
that has a Type 1 Obverse (LIBERTY ribbon ends point sharply to the left and Liberty has 3 fingers
under the olive branch) and a Type 1 Reverse (there is a berry beneath the eagle’s claw). A Type I/II
coin has a Type 2 Reverse, which does not have a berry under the eagle’s claw.

However, I would also suggest looking for an 1877-CC for his type set. The 1877-CC is much scarcer
than the 1875-CC, usually comes well struck, and normally can be bought for not much more than the
1875-CC.

I hope this helps. . . Bill

From Bill Oldenburg: Good Afternoon Bill, I have a question for you related to the 1861-0 Liberty
Seated Half Dollar.

I have a very nice certified AU piece coming in the mail to me on approval from a coin dealer. I have
been able to look at an image and speak to the dealer and I am under the impression the piece is a middle
die state.

I tried to use Dick Osbum's web site and Heritage auction prices realized as references to the different
die states. Dicks' site describes them, but has no images. Heritage has the images, but does not describe
the die states.

My question is this: Do you have any images of the early/middle/late die states of the Confederate
crack? If not, do you know where I can go to find images of these? I would like to attribute the piece as
well as any other pieces I may run into in the future. Any help would be much appreciated! Thank you
in advance for your time and effort.

From Alan Zischke: . . .Bill! Did you see the upcoming Stack's Seated Half Sale (Ed., Buddy Byers
Collection )? It looks top notch!

In the upcoming LSCC Survey, there are many halves that I haven't attributed. Should they be called
WB 101 or will there be a category like "I'm not sure" or just left out, I have about 250 halves and over
half are not attributed yet. Can a deeply richly toned Seated Half be naturally toned on both sides or is
that almost always artificial toning? Hope you had a good summer!

From Dave Schaefer: . . .Bill, I have accessed and enjoyed the back issues of the E-Gobrecht through

GF's site with no trouble. . .

The E-Gobrecht has featured interesting, infonnative content from the start and I hope to add to the
content in some shape or fonn soon. My areas of interest are Seated Halves and Seated Dollars.

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Calendar

- LSCC yearly dues due - October 3 1 st , 2006.

- Next issue of The Gobrecht Journal - November 2006.

- LSCC Regional meeting - Baltimore, MD coin show, Saturday, November 1 1 th , 9 AM (See notice in
this issue).

- Quarter census mailed out - Early 2007.

- 100 th Issue of The Gobrecht Journal - November 2007

Information, input, comments, or suggestions for improvements to this E-Gobrecht are actively solicited
from anyone and may be sent to wb8cpy@arrl.net or by writing or calling:

Bill Bugert
Editor, E-Gobrecht
P.O. Box 3761
Gettysburg, PA 17325-6927
(717)337-0229

To be added or removed from the E-Gobrecht mailing list, send an email message with the words
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Information on the Liberty Seated Collectors Club

The LSCC Pledge . To encourage, promote, and dispense numismatic knowledge of the Liberty Seated
coins; to cultivate fraternal relations among its members and all those interested in the science of
numismatics.

LSCC Officers.

President: John McCloskey.

Vice-President: Larry Briggs.

Secretary/Treasurer: Len Augsburger.

LSCC Membership Information. Dues are $15 per year and include three issues of The Gobrecht
Journal, an award winning numismatic publication. To join the Liberty Seated Collectors Club, for The
Gobrecht Journal mailing address changes, or for other membership questions, correspond with the
LSCC Secretary Len Augsburger at:

Leonard Augsburger
P.O. Box 61 14
Vernon Hills, IL 60061
Phone: (847) 816-1649.

Email: leonard_augsburger@hotmail.com.

Articles, comments, or advertisements for publication in The Gobrecht Journal may be addressed to the
LSCC President:

John W. McCloskey

President, LSCC, and Editor, The Gobrecht Journal
Email address: John.McCloskey@notes.udayton.edu